Sara Noel: Couple ways to clean streaky silverware

Dear Yvonne: There are a couple of ways to clean silverware with baking soda.

You can make a paste with water and baking soda, then rub it on, rinse and polish with a soft cloth.

Or you can line a pan with aluminum foil, set your silverware in it, pour boiling water over it and sprinkle 1/2 cup of baking soda into the pan.

Let the silverware soak for an hour, then rinse with water, let it dry flat on a towel and polish.

If you're looking for a faster solution, wipe flatware with vinegar or club soda to remove the streaks.

Dear Sara: I was looking online at your project for the homemade bath rug. I have the canvas, but it seems the squares are too small for the towel to fit through. How big are the squares on the canvas you use?

I really like this idea! - Nancy E., email

Dear Nancy: Standard latch-hook canvas works fine.

If you use a smaller weave canvas, you will want to skip some squares. T-shirt material cut into roughly 1-inch strips is preferable over using a towel.

If you use a towel, cut the strips very thin (1/4 inch).

You can hook it like latch-hook yarn, tie it onto the canvas or just pull the strip through the canvas and leave it untied.

Hope this helps.

Dear Sara: The only hamburger I have in my freezer is already browned. Is there any way to make hamburger patties from it? - Amy, Ohio

Dear Amy: You can't make patties, but you can still get the same taste of a hamburger by using the cooked meat and scooping some onto sub rolls, then adding some toppings and baking it. Use (or modify) this recipe: sunshineandbones.blogspot.com/2010/09/long-boy-burgers.

Since your ground beef is already cooked, it will shorten your cooking time.

Dear Sara: Pulverizing spices and herbs? I used my electric mini-chopper to make celery powder and celery flakes from dehydrated celery.

Basically, what was left after I strained the powder off was what I called "flakes" and will use for soups, etc.

It worked OK, but it took a good while to do it.

What kind of gadget can I use to make celery, onions, dried garlic and bell peppers into powder without so many "re-dos"? - S.P., Louisiana

Dear S.P.: I'd use a mortar and pestle, a pepper mill or a coffee grinder. In some cases, such as for cinnamon, you can use a microplane.